All posts in Gun DVDs

In recent years there have been a lot of really good firearm instructional videos come out from Magpul, PDN and Pantaeo Productions. I own just about all of the DVDs I can get my hands on because there have been plenty of family members that I know that were looking into buying their first firearm and I didn’t have time to train them myself, but I went through my collection and handed off some of the ones that I thought were the best. There is plenty of options to pick from but the Pantaeo productions series has really taken off and expended into areas Medical and Combat Mindset. This is REAL hardcore training and after watching some of these, and you will understand that owning a firearm isn’t about plinking, there are some evil people in the world and sometimes the only thing that will stop them is a good person with a gun.

Not all of these videos that we sell are so heavy, there are videos that are good for anyone looking into getting into IDPA or Competition shooting as well as videos on night vision applications. There have been plenty of times I almost felt like I could skip through some of the chapters in the Firearm Instructional Videos that I own but the simple things like “Adminstrative Loading and unloading” are probable the most common mistakes that I have seen and those kinds of mistakes can be fatal in the real world and I always watch through them. There have been instructors that I personally have blackballed because I have watch stuff that I refuse to sell because I think they are bad.

We have all watched the DVD market explode in the last decade, but some of the best firearm instruction videos have come to mainstream gun ownership and the quality of the skills being taught and production has dramatically improved. This video collection from Magpul contains some of the best firearm instruction for the weekend warriors and concealed carry owners. Chis Costa and Travis Haley both do an excellent job of communicating and the operator errors of students is documented and discussed throughout the series. They didn’t edit out the bad parts to make people look good, they showed them how to fix the problem.

Some of the things taught in the series are advanced, but The Art of the Dynamic Handgun is an outstanding gift for anyone that has not taken a defensive course. While we believe that anyone that has access to a firearm in a home or is carrying a firearm concealed, should immerse themselves in something like this. There is an entire magpul DVD for concealed carry and it is well worth buying for yourself or others. The shotgun is the number one home defense gun but there are advanced ways of operating one and for under $40 would it be worth it?

Recently I noticed there are a lot of firearms training DVDs coming out from some pretty big names in the industry. While I agree there has been a bit of a boom in celebrity firearms instructors, I think most of these guys are class act and the majority have some really good info for novice and expert levels of experience. I remember talking to Fernando Coelho years ago about getting some credentials in the industry and he told me the first thing I should do is take a course with Pat Rogers or Larry Vickers. Since I’m married with kids it’s been really hard to take a 3 or 4 day course out of State, but now that Panteao Productions is kicking out a DVD a month practically, I’m trying to swallow up the time to be able to watch all of them.

I think most people in my age group have the same issues, it’s money or time that they don’t have enough of but for $50 or less you can find some point during the day to watch these DVDs in stages or after the kids go to bed. I have only been able to watch about a dozen of the Panteao DVDs from Make Ready with Travis Haley, Make Ready with Paul Howe and all of the new Pat Rogers training ones. The Massad Ayoob DVD about Home defense is an excellent DVD to watch and give as a gift to someone that has no idea how the criminal mind works and how to prepare your home for threats.

Unfortunately debates like this would break out on the gun forums in the last decade and all kinds of brew ha would break out. Sure we do not need anymore gun laws on the books because the laws that are already written aren’t being enforced very well and Government restrictions tend to have no impact on crime. Now that concealed carry has grown in many areas of the Country where it has not been legal, more and more people are applying for permits. In Wisconsin there have been big changes to these laws because crime has risen there.

There are levels of gun safety training and nobody does a better job that the NRA, even many that have been in the United States Military have not undergone much training with firearms. The firearm training DVDs coming from Panteao Productions fills a hole that many gun owners and even military personel have missed out on. From home defense, concealed carry, Carbine training from Paul Howe and Travis Haley, Dave Harringtons 360 pistol and many more will give you the broadest selection of shooting styles for defensive applications and competition shooting.

We all know how well the Magpul Art of the Tactical Carbine and related DVDS have done and I have heard very little criticism about the training information that was put forward. I do want to state that I have not fallen into the mindset of glorifying all of the firearms instructors with DVD’s just because they sold a lot. There are plenty of Celebrity firearms instructors that I don’t too much credit into because I can find the information and competency in other venues. I have to say that spending $50 on a DVD these days is kind of high, but considering that there is so much information that deducted from the price of traveling and training.

Travis Haley has parted with Magpul but from all accounts it was strictly business and I guess time to move on. We have several sources tell us there will be much more coming from Travis Haley via Make Ready firearm instructional dvds give the working man or women a source for getting training and info from some of the best sources. There is a lot to firearms that has nothing to do with pulling the trigger and hitting the target. Maintaining a firearm and diagnosing a problem quickly is something that all shooters need to know. There are many different ways to do the same thing, but many times, the environments and positions change so you will have to have the mindset of adapting.

It has been several decades now that I have been shooting firearms and we’re working on the second decade of military style semi-auto experience. Some of the guns I have owned in the last 10yrs are breaking down from time to time, but I’m still learning about the firearms. When something breaks, its somewhat fun to learn about how a firearm was designed and how much trial and error went into a firearms design before it was done right. All of those little springs and detents probable came about after trying other things, but they are all very important parts of keeping a firearm running.

Recently I had a stock come apart on my and the spring and detent fell out, I couldn’t find the stock wrench that I had so I had to pick up another one from Tapco. It is now staying in my range bag, I’ve had magazine failures and ammo failures, but getting the AR15 Armorers course gun dvds is a good gift or good thing to watch with your gun buddies. There are good ideas on keeping gun parts and small compact gun tools around to keep your gun up and running or get it up and running when you’re at a range. Something like a $1 spring can shut your gun down for the day if you weren’t prepared.

This weekend I got a rare chance to actually get out and practice some urban combat tacticals and had the most fun I’ve had in awhile. A few months ago I did some practical handgun defensive shooting training, but I kind of lost the feel of recoil and that’s not something i like to feel when I’m on the range. I have in the past pushed myself to practice shooting defensively from a cold mindset. What do I mean? Nobody warms up to a self defense situation, sometimes you are thrown into it.

Once you have your safe gun handling skills down, there’s nothing wrong with pushing yourself. I recently got a reminder about checking things on a firearm before training though. I carry lots of spare parts for my AR15 bolt, but I didn’t have a stock tool or spare detent pin and springs. I watched a few gun dvds, specifially the AR15 Armorer’s course with Dean Caputo. One good thing about having something like this is being able to identify the parts that go in certain areas and what they are used for.

Once I get everything setup in the new showroom, we’re getting a big ass TV for running some of the videos from the Make Ready DVD series. The production on the DVDs has been pretty good so far, but I must admit I’ve only watched about 10hrs of video. I’ve been itching for a really long time to get my hands on some of the modern Carbine Fighting techniques because I think this is the most practical training a Citizen can get. Much like the old Militia mentality which has sadly been become a negative term and no longer a term for a Patriot, this should be common amongst young adults to know how to defend their Countries.

There are some pretty shabby people making gun videos and I don’t know the background on all of them, but you gotta check references when information when you are training. There was a big stink a few years ago about firearm instructors not checking the backgrounds of some of their students, but that’s another issue. With so many people getting real world training and experience in Iraq and Afghanistan coming home and producing gun dvds that can help our society produce defenders of Liberty is pretty cool if you ask me. I have several SWAT buddies that go through training and they liked the access to Paul Howe’s new Tac Pistol and Tac Rifle Operator videos.

I have walked many a gun show floor and walked by the booths that had all of the assemble and disassemble books. Those are useful, but at many times very hard to read. Little arrows and pictures can still make it hard to comprehend. Along comes the VHS and DVD world and AGI has done a good job on this. I’m also a very big fan of Clint Smith and his DVD collection although pretty expensive really turns out to be worth the money spent. For the most part they are well produced, but a few spotty parts should have been re-shot.

Panteao Productions has there shit together. I just saw a glimpse of the next in line, Travis Haley, who recently left Magpul, and started Haley Strategic Partners, is working with Panteao Productions to release “Adaptive Carbine” his first production since leaving Magpul. Travis is kinda the rockstar of the gun DVDs. The production on the Magpul Dynamics DVD series are outstanding. I’ve only been able to watch the Make Ready Series a few times, but I haven’t been let down. If I pick all of the best firearm instructors I know, I’m betting there all on the schedule with Panteao Productions.

I have a great many gun dvd’s in my collection and they are mostly of value, but I did have a few that I lent to a friend for comical reasons, but unfortunately they got lost and there’s no way in hell I’ll spend the money for another batch of them. Now that DVD editing has gotten better and easier to do, more firearms trainers are taking to the camera eye. There are several people that I would love to train with, but like many people I can’t take 3 days off from my day job. I subscribed to the Outdoor Channel over a year ago, but sadly most of the shows I watch are producing so few shows that I’ve already seen the same ones 4 or 5 times and I’m itching for something a little more complicated.

We just got word that Travis Haley just got done shooting “Adaptive Carbine” training course and will be out in a few months. Considering the names that I am seeing on the Make Ready gun dvds, I’m sure that Fernando Coelho knows the people to get in front of the camera and how to sell a DVD. I think all of these DVD’s are a great thing because the production is so well done and gun owners will have easy access to important tactics and safe gun handling skills. I think there are too many people out there that own AR15 rifles that don’t know the proper ways to maintain or handle them.